I guess I did rush a bit too much things with this painting, I put it in a show of my paintings, held at my place...but afterward I felt it wasn't finished, too many mistakes were becoming too apparent to me, at least, her head was wrong, her expression I did not like, and many few things made me deciding to work on it again, I once read that Degas entered a museum where one of his painting was hanged, and that he did retouch it, an urban legend or artistic legend? don't know, but at least in my case I would not have to entered someone else appartment to work on this painting.

So it has become inevitable that I would rework this painting, and I though that it would be a matter of a few sessions to get it finished....it was without compting on the fact that I would start to play with reproducing either the whole model, faded, or just part of her, this was the first time that I was using this technique, which has become more frequent over the last few years, but I this point I did not have a clear idea of what I did want, I guess it is a recipe for getting in lot of trouble

And then everything started going in all directions, models appearing, disapearing, parts were painted then removed, composition changed, zooming here and there, I guess my brushes were too hasty, helped by me of course...so all that was another recipe for disaster, ok not a real disaster, but it kind of force me to put so many hours in this one....and at one point there was four Lonneke...:)

At this point I really though that it was finally getting very close to be signed, so here's an almost final version, or a first draft or an almost final version...:), and further down here's the video of that year and a half of painting Lonneke, 1,2,3, or 4 th...

From where we were in june 2006, all seems to go relatively smooth, it is not apparent of course that it wasn't so, first I switch to oil and Liquin, and then I was having lot of problem with the tacky surface of the painting, the long delays between sessions, often many weeks, so dust was adding to the problem, and I had a lot of trouble to get her pose correctly, and often proportions were good but I lost them trying to correct the pose

On top of that, I was having quite a lot of difficulties getting the pose right, it seems to me that either I had the proportions right but not the pose, then trying to correct that I was losing the proportions, my drawing skills were not that good, or it was just out of my reach at that point to control that. And besides at that period I was quite a good, too good drinker, so often I was having few, and more than often many beers, in the first stage, you feel your movement are flying, and often I though I had a breakthrough, that it was very good...that is until I look at it the next morning...I guess my gesture was a bit too free at the end of night, so more than often I had to correct and repaint....

Un autre deux ans s'écoula, et là à l'approche d'une exposition chez moi, je décidais que c'était ok comme cela...donc septembre 2010, je la signe, une première fois....:) évidemment vous savez déjà qu'il y a une suite....Another two years went by, and I was rapidly approaching the date of an exhibition I was planning at home, so I decided it was ok, and I signed it, a first time, its was September 2010...:) of course you already know it wasn't over yet....

As it is the case for many of my paintings, it started as an acrylic painting, each time telling that I will master this medium, nothing wrong with this, and over the years I did start feeling more and more confortable with this medium; but at that time I had some sort of misconception about acrylic, I though that since it is drying fast, I could easily repair mistakes, drawing mistakes, so I was favorising a quick start, and not paying too much attention at the fact that everything was in the right place, but when you do like painting bodies like I do, it is for the least a recipe for disaster....:)

J'ai commencé ce tableau le 12 juillet 2003, cette photo est datée du 5 juillet 2005, deux ans plus tard, les photos du début? Parfois on fait des erreurs de dessin, de composition, cette fois ci, un manque de rigueur informatique...I started this painting on July 12, 2003 and this picture was taken on July 5...2005, usually I took many pictures to record the steps, I did....but did not do back ups....

...and computer did crash, so I lost all the early pics...sometimes we do mistakes, drawing mistakes, composition mistakes, or too many changes, and on top of that safe data keeping practice not good, actuallly I had none...now I do take many more precautions...:)

A bit upset, with my composition and drawing skills, and the way I tough working with acrylic were hindering my work, I decided to move to oil, usually it does not cause any or very few problems, this time it wasn't the case, maybe partly because I tried a new medium, Liquin, I don't know, but the canvas became very sticky, the brushes would not flow easily and I was getting more upset with this painting, so I decided to simplify it, so out of the way went the background, less distracting, less is better they say.....and well, it was hard but it seems to me that it was getting better...the only thing left was to bring back her face, some contrast, details in her skirt and boots....

I keeping dusting off the long list of works finished and still hanging around in the 'in progress' sections of my various sites, bu the way some of these sites will be probably left there, have to do some clean up in this area as well, taking too much time to maintain...So let's talk about a painting who's been my lomguest endeavour, model Lonneke Engel, sometimes there was one of her, sometimes 2, 3 or 4, and this painting could summarise everything good as well as don't do...of my way of painting....

La version finale de ce tableau commencé en 2003 et terminé en 2013...10 ans, à peu près le même temps qui s'est écoulé entre le discours du président Kennedy qui promettait que des américains se poseraient sur la Lune avant la fin des années 60...:)The final version of this painting started in 2003 and finished in 2013....10 years, just about the same timelap between the moment President Kennedy promised that americans would land on the moon before the end of the sixties....

The making of video will follow in a next post, maybe 2 ou 3 video, there's been so many changes in this painting, and on top of that I can't load on Flickr movie longer than 3 minutes, so If I want to keep a smooth transition between slides, it will be better to present it by sections...and also a bit of history, of good things and should not have done that......

Still preparing that exhibition, not yet started hanging the new works, still in clean up mode, but to end this day well, why not painting a little bit, like the 3 Lonneke painting, that still not quite finished, I think it is pretty close to be now, I do work in an engineering related job, maybe I should just do what they do with the drawing draft versions, sometimes the are emitted with the mention DRAFT, at either 30, 60 or 90 %, so I think it will be showned, finished or not, I will say it is a draft version at 99%, but I will omit the DRAFT VERSION mention on the canvas.

Thursday morning, and many parts of my body remind me that I'm not use to extensive clean-up and moving duties...so to start slowly and warm up...why not trying to finish this painting, which now is probably more than 99%, in fact it is finish, but of course, I would not be surprised if the first visitors at my show, will caught me adding a thing here and there on this painting..:)

No pics of the place, bared washed walls, look quite the same as bared unwashed walls....should start today hanging the new works, and liberating some spaces to work on the rest of the place...E day minus 52 hours...stressing out a bit...:D

Lot of trouble these three Lonneke..another session when it seems that this particular painting, goes on his way, going in a way that I did not planned....and when this happen, some good and bad things happen, I do like the more loose side it took, even if in the meantime, it send my model almost faceless....at least tonight, which by the way is Tuesday, I took a photo, but did not feel like posting it right away, I know I will reworked it soon, like tomorrow night....

In repair mode, for the face or faces shall I say...and why not working on the background, either by rendering it a bit more uniform, and playing with colors, shapes and contrast, and trying to fix the light, which is quite unnatural....in fact it is coming from many sides...I guess this is a difficulty that come with this type of painting, made from a collection of part of the same pose..

Still a bit, a lot of work, on this painting, which I think is finally very close to the end....I feel it or just telling myself the expo is near and I want to show it...and another leg is appearing, or reappearing I should say, often I do apply a rule I've been teached in my very first painting course, repeating either a color, a shape, a texture in at least 3 place, spread across the painting, apparently it does help balancing, and the eye is moving from one of these spots to another...so here I do have 3 times Lonneke and three times one of her boot....I guess the magic number here is 3, rule are fine, but I'm not always respecting them, you have to know them before deciding te break it, but it is not the case here...:)

I was hoping that the end of the world predicted by the Mayas, would give me a good excuse, to leave this unterminable painting unfinished, well seems I do have to revise my plans, and since were in a new year, maybe I shall take the same resolution of last year...learn to draw hands, and ears....as for feets....I do have a way to go around that, I think I can draw and paint boots pretty well...:) So the latest versions of Lonneke, more like the 3 Lonnekes...

Still working on this painting, as I mentionned, I modified the proportion of linseed oil in my medium, the paint is more 'flowing', and I think the result can be seen, so here's the last two photos, one yesterday, the other tonight...

With all the work yesterday to set up pages and gallery for my life model sketches, not counting the time to photograph, arrange the photos in photoshop and load them on my sites, I almost lost track of a painting worked on thursday night, Lonneke, so here where she was standing thursday, before calling it a night....I already reworked this painting today, the photo will come tomorrow, but lets say that with this painting I do have to tackle somewhat of a few weakness in my painting ability...Hands, mouth, nose, and ears...I really struggle with these, eventually I will get to really know how to paint them, zooming on the pic surely aid....but there is still a lot of work to do...

Well, seems like I just cannot leave that painting along, I guess Cindy has got me, and there two of them...help!...ok painting wise, today it is the wilder painter that's there, so it does take another direction, not quite different, and since I just cannot find the words to describe it, either in french or english, than maybe I should just let that picture trying to tell the story...

Finally got away from Cindy, both of them, to fall into Lonneke and her shades, or ghostly reflections, maybe that was why I was hung up on the previous one...:D, I do like that painting, finally I think I know where I want to take it, but there is much left to do, and I'v been working on this one for so long....at one point it was like that...two years ago...

But as it happen often, I decided that I wasn't please with it and that I could improve it...one day I will put up the whole story, actually the sldeshow is on this painting's page...let's just say it started in 2003, but the first pictures were lost in a computer crash...no safe backup method at that time, I've learned....but for now here's the previous version, tonight but probably more like tomorrow I will post an update...